Lee Pulliam, still just 37-years-old is back, at least for four Late Model Stock races this spring with a wait-and-see approach for when it comes to the rest of the season.
Icebreaker | Florence Motor Speedway | February 7 CARS Tour opener |Coastal Plains | February 21 CARS Tour | Southern National | February 28 South Boston Opening Day | South Boston | March 21
So, here’s a hypothetical for the four-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion, one that was posited towards him on Wednesday night after announcing his plans. Let’s say Pulliam is the CARS Tour championship leader after those two races, which also likely means he is eligible for the new Flodium bonus, there is no way he isn’t running the third race at Wake County on March 28 … right?
“Yeah, I mean, you never say never, right,” Pulliam told Short Track Scene. “But really, we’re just taking it one race at a time and I’m just thankful to be back in a race car. That is the bottom line to me, you know? My races have been so spread out for such a long time, to race four races in a row, I am pretty excited about that.
“We’re just going to take them one at a time and see where they lead. It costs a lot of money to race and I am super thankful for these four. Hopefully I do a really good job and we’ll see what happens.”
To his point, one of the most prolific Late Model drivers of the 2010s has only raced five times over the past five years and the answer is a familiar one to most in the industry. Money. Pulliam accepted that it was more reasonable to make a living as an owner, crew chief and driver coach instead of chasing wins while also being responsible for a family.
His second act has included wins and championships with the likes of Corey Heim and Brenden Queen, but nothing emotionally moves him like winning from behind the steering wheel. That feeling was hammered home last September when he nearly won the Martinsville 300.
If not for a caution several feet away from the checkered flag, he would have. If not for a series of fair game bump-and-runs with Landon Pembelton, he would have. If not for a 0.024 photo finish, he would have.
“Man, that was pretty incredible,” Pulliam said of Martinsville. “It led to Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) reaching out and asking me to drive his car at the Thanksgiving Classic. That was super special to me because I grew up an Earnhardt fan. I have so much respect for their whole family and to do that was a dream come true, and took a lot of pride in driving that car.
“But that weekend, Martinsville, was very special because I put a lot of focus and work into that car and to have it unload so fast and racing up front all night, and being 18 seconds from it being over, there were so many different emotions.
“I was praying that the caution wouldn’t come out when it came out. I knew it was going to be tough and I just rode a rollercoaster of emotions there. I felt everything hitting me at once during the cool down lap. It was a gut punch losing like that, but also remembering how much fun this is, and realizing that my fire to do this is burning just as strong as ever.”
Pulliam remains convinced he had the talent to race on Sundays, but that everything happens for a reason. He is grateful for his family and a career in racing that still allows him to compete in a different way. He says ‘I struggled with that’ because he believes he was a championship caliber driver in the top three levels.
“I enjoy working on them, and crew chief-ing them, but there is nothing like driving them,” Pulliam said. “It’s why I got into racing, you know? I have won a lot of races since I last won as a driver in September 2019, as a spotter, crew chief, everything, but there is nothing like winning a race, climbing out of the car and spraying everyone with champagne.
“I miss hearing them boo, cheer, whatever it is and rolling on to the next one.”
So, for at least four races in the spring, Pulliam is getting to roll onto the next one three times after the Florence Icebreaker. These starts are thanks to Lee Pulliam Performance partners Folsom Fence, Best Repair Company and Carolina Drilling.
This is alongside the car owner role which will continue with Carson Brown making the jump into Late Model Stocks with the Pulliam team.
“If it wasn’t for those guys, and everyone that’s trusted me with their careers, I wouldn’t be able to go play,” Pulliam said. “I am super thankful for these guys wanting to be a part of it. We all have tremendous friendships outside of the sponsorship and I am just proud to represent them.
“It’s pretty cool for an old guy like me to have people believe in me and get behind me. I am working on seven years since my last win at South Boston Speedway and that’s a long time and I never knew if I would actually get that feeling again.
“To come so close last year, I still feel like I have it in me to do it, and I just want to have that feeling again at some point.”
Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.
